Emiko and Chizuko Omori Collection

PARTNER

COLLECTION ID

ddr-densho-1002

DESCRIPTION

The Emiko and Chizuko Omori Collection consists of interviews conducted for filmmaker Emiko Omori's documentary Rabbit in the Moon, which aired on PBS in 1999. The film explores the conflict surrounding the resisters of conscience movement in the World War II concentration camps, as well as the divisiveness of the postwar Japanese American communities. The interviews are typically not full life histories, instead primarily focusing on issues surrounding the draft resistance movement itself.

For more information about Emiko and Chizuko Omori's Rabbit in the Moon, please visit www.rabbit-in-the-moon.org.

INCLUSIVE UNIT DATE

BULK UNIT DATE

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

11 oral history interviews

CONTRIBUTOR

Densho

PREFERRED CITATION

Courtesy of Emiko and Chizuko Omori

RIGHTS

Nisei male. Born July 29, 1912, in Seattle, Washington. Wrote 'Social Solidarity Among the Japanese in Seattle' as a Master's thesis, published in 1939 as one of the first academic works on the Japanese immigrant community. Incarcerated in Tule Lake concentration camp, California. Member of the Evacuation and Resettlement Study which studied the incarceration and ...

Issei male. Born 1912 in Yamaguchi ken, Japan. Immigrated to United States in 1919. Lived in Pomeroy, Washington, and Seattle, Washington, before World War II. Incarcerated at the Puyallup Assembly Center, Washington and the Minidoka concentration camp, Idaho. Resettled in New York. As a member of the Newspaper Guild, led effort to eliminate pejorative use of ...

Caucasian male. Born in 1904 in Albany, New York. Founder and Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California from 1934 to 1971. Fought for civil rights throughout his career, and was involved in the General Strike in San Francisco, the McCarthy Era, and the Free Speech, civil rights, and anti-war movements. Represented ...

Nisei male. Born November 8, 1922 in Sacramento, California. Spent childhood and adolescence in Loomis, California, before spending senior year in high school in Los Angeles, California. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, removed to Marysville Assembly Center, California, and then to Tule Lake concentration camp, California. Resisted the draft and renounced U.S. citizenship, remaining ...

Nisei male. Born October 30, 1926, in small town of Thomas, Washington, on family farm. Attended school in Auburn, Washington, before being removed to the Pinedale Assembly Center and Tule Lake concentration camp, California. Left camp to work in Idaho, and was subsequently joined by family. Postwar, became a social anthropologist, and later became only the ...

Nisei male. Born August 7, 1924 in Mountain View, California. Grew up in the Santa Clara Valley, California, working on his family's leased strawberry farm. In June of 1942, he was involuntarily "evacuated" to Santa Anita Assembly Center, California, then to Heart Mountain concentration camp, Wyoming. Graduated from high school in camp and at the ...

Nisei male. Born April 14, 1907, in Pauilo, Hawaii. Lived in Japan from 1915 to 1923, and settled on the mainland upon his return to the United States. Was married in 1930, and was removed along with family to Manzanar concentration camp, California, during World War II. While in Manzanar, organized the Mess Hall Workers Union ...

Nisei female. Born August 5, 1924, in Sacramento, California. Grew up in Sacramento and Los Angeles. During World War II, removed to the Manzanar concentration camp, California, and transferred to the Jerome concentration camp, Arkansas. Washington representative and researcher for National Council for Japanese American Redress (NCJAR) and primary archival researcher for Commission on Wartime Relocation ...

Nisei male. Born September 23, 1916, in Los Angeles, California. Attended Los Angeles City College for one year before leaving to run the family produce business. Married and had a daughter before being removed to Pomona Assembly Center, California, and Heart Mountain concentration camp, Wyoming. The leader of Heart Mountain's Fair Play Committee, was convicted ...

Nisei female. Born August 23, 1921, in Redondo Beach, California. Raised in California before mass removal to Parker Dam Assembly Center, Arizona, which was later converted into Poston concentration camp. An aspiring writer, worked for the camp newspaper, the Poston Chronicle, while incarcerated. After leaving camp, returned to California and worked for the Los Angeles Tribune ...

This material is based upon work assisted by a grant from the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Department of the Interior.